**  v wy 


CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS: 


INTRODUCTORY  LECTURE, 


DELIVERED  BEFORE  THE 


BOSTON  YOUNG  MEN’S  SOCIETY 


FOR 


DIFFUSING  MISSIONARY  KNOWLEDGE, 


December  29,  1841. 


BY  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN  BUTLER. 


Published  at  the  request  of  the  Society. 


BOSTON: 

PRESS  OF  T.  R.  MARVIN,  24  CONGRESS  STREET. 

1 8 4 2. 


Owing  to  circumstances  beyond  the  control  of  the  Society,  as  well 
as  of  the  Author,  the  following  Lecture  was  prepared  on  short  notice, 
and,  indeed,  a considerable  part  of  it  within  only  a few  hours  of  its 
delivery.  The  writer  was  therefore  unwilling  to  commit  it  to  the 
press,  without  first  subjecting  it  to  revision  ; and  in  correcting  it  for 
publication,  he  has  felt  himself  at  liberty  to  expand,  a little,  one  or 
two  passages,  which,  for  want  of  time,  were  not  so  fully  illustrated 
as  he  desired. 


LECTURE. 


At  the  beginning  of  a course  of  popular  lectures 
entirely  novel  in  its  character,  the  Public  may  naturally 
ask  for  information,  as  to  the  grounds  on  which  their 
attention  is  thus  appealed  to  ; the  range  of  subjects  in- 
tended to  be  embraced  ; and  the  benefits  which  the  exe- 
cution of  the  plan  may  be  expected  to  confer. 

The  following  lecture  being  introductory  of  such  a 
course,  my  topics  have  been  selected  and  will  be  treated, 
with  a view,  among  other  things,  to  meet  inquiries  of  this 
sort  so  far  as  they  may  arise  on  the  present  occasion. 

It  is  implied,  in  the  very  title  of  the  Association,  which, 
this  evening,  commences  its  public  career,  that  its  founders 
take  a lively  interest  in  the  work  of  Christian  Missions  ; 
that  they  think  it  important  to  acquire  and  to  diffuse,  cor- 
rect knowledge  in  regard  to  them ; and  that  they  believe 
this  may  be  done,  in  some  useful  degree,  by  means  of 
public  lectures. 

Assuming,  (as  I am  doubtless  fully  authorized  to  do,) 
that  such  are,  in  fact,  the  motives  which  have  led  the 
Young  Men  of  Boston  to  establish  this  course  of  public 
instruction,  I proceed  to  remark,  that  the  interest  they 
have  thus  manifested  in  the  general  diffusion  of  Christian- 
ity, (the  grand  purpose  of  the  Missionary  Enterprise,)  is  but 
a just  homage  to  the  object  itself,  and  to  their  own  respon- 
sibilities in  respect  to  it. 

To  say  nothing  of  extensive  regions  in  which  a corrupt 
or  nominal  Christianity  prevails,  we  perceive,  on  the 


4 


slightest  survey  of  the  religious  character  of  the  human 
family,  that  a vast  majority  of  its  members  are  wholly 
ignorant  of  the  Christian  faith ; that  some  of  this  number 
are  yet  in  a savage  state  and  others  only  partially  civilized  ; 
and  that  all  are  sunk  in  the  mire  of  Heathenism,  or  bowed 
beneath  the  yoke  of  the  Mohammedan  imposture. 

In  many  respects,  Mohammedan  and  Pagan  nations  may 
be  classed  together ; for  both  experience  most  of  the  evils, 
individual  and  social,  which  always  flow  from  a false 
religion. 

The  number  and  enormity  of  these  evils,  I shall  not 
now  attempt  to  specify  or  describe. 

It  is  enough  to  say,  that  while  they  vary  in  degree,  they 
include,  as  a general  fact,  all  the  pernicious  consequences 
which  result  from  false  standards  of  moral  duty  ; from 
unnatural  social  and  domestic  arrangements ; from  political 
despotism ; and  from  popular  ignorance.  Among  these 
may  be  reckoned  falsehood,  impurity,  and  fraud ; polyg- 
amy, infanticide  and  the  universal  debasement  of  the 
female  sex ; absurd  notions  in  science  ; unjust  and  de- 
grading classifications  of  society ; the  perpetual  servitude 
of  caste ; slavery  in  various  other  forms ; unlimited  and 
irresponsible  power  in  rulers,  with  all  the  abuses  which 
usually  attend  the  possession  of^  such  power ; the  utter 
absence  of  free  discussion,  of  public  spirit,  and  of  enlight- 
ened charity  ; frequent  and  bloody  wars,  at  the  pleasure  of 
the  sovereign,  uncontrolled  by  public  opinion  or  by  any 
other  moral  power ; and  the  general  prevalence  of  error, 
inhumanity  and  crime.  Not  that  all  these  evils  are  to  be 
found  in  connection  with  every  form  of  Heathenism,  or  in 
every  Mohammedan  country  ; nor,  that  when  found,  they 
always  exist  in  equal  degree ; but  that  these  enormities 
are  the  natural  fruits  of  those  systems,  and  abound,  to  a 
greater  or  less  extent.,  wherever  they  prevail.  Look  at  the 
unchristianized  portions  of  the  globe — even  those  most 
favorably  circumstanced — and  see  every  where  exemplified 
the  truth  of  this  statement. 


5 


Is  this  state  of  things  to  last  forever?  Are  the  temples 
of  obscene  and  cruel  gods  always  to  insult  the  majesty  of 
Heaven  ? Shall  their  altars  send  up,  through  slowly  re- 
volving cycles,  till  Time  shall  be  no  longer,  their  polluted 
incense  ? Is  man,  immortal  man,  forever  to  be  crushed 
into  the  dust,  by  the  double  pressure  of  heart-withering 
Superstition  and  soul-subduing  Tyranny?  Shall  the  de- 
votee forever  torture  his  body  for  the  sins  of  his  soul  ? 
The  mother  forever  cast  her  offspring  to  the  turbid  stream  ? 
The  widow  forever  ascend  the  blazing  pile  ? The  whole 
sex,  throughout  the  East,  be  forever  kept  in  debasing 
vassalage  ? Blessed  be  God,  we  are  not  left  thus  to  despair 
of  the  human  race!  There  is  hope  of  a brighter  and  bet- 
ter day.  There  is  a remedy  for  this  moral  desolation  : a 
means  of  recovering  the  world  from  its  wretchedness  and 
ruin. 

Christianity,  the  best  gift  of  God  to  man,  is  equal  to  this 
great  emergency.  She  is,  emphatically,  the  parent  of  civ- 
ilization ; the  tamer  of  the  passions ; the  teacher  of  kind- 
ness and  philanthropy  ; the  dispenser  of  knowledge,  liberty, 
and  happiness.  She  has  the  promise  “of  the  life  that  now 
is,”  as  well  as  “ of  that  which  is  to  come.”  It  is  her  glo- 
rious mission  to  diffuse  “peace  on  earth  and  good  will 
towards  men ;”  to  enlighten  the  ignorant ; to  relieve  the 
wretched  ; to  raise  the  down-trodden ; to  deliver  the  op- 
pressed ; to  compose  the  dissentions  of  hostile  classes ; to 
reconcile  contending  nations  ; to  bind  them  together  in  the 
bonds  of  amity  and  concord ; to  secure  the  rights  of  each 
and  of  all ; and  to  spread  over  the  world  the  genial  influ- 
ences of  light  and  love.  Christianity  is  not  only  equal  to 
this  task  ; but  it  is  only  by  bringing  beneath  her  sway  the 
dark  corners  of  the  earth,  that  they  can  be  filled  with  the 
like  measure  of  civilization  and  of  happiness,  which  has 
been  allotted  to  ourselves.  In  the  universe  of  God  there 
exists  no  other  remedy  for  the  evils  they  suffer ; no  other 
instrumentality  by  which  they  can  be  led  forth  to  liberty 
and  life. 


6 


Does  any  doubt  the  perfect  adequacy  of  Christianity  to 
the  accomplishment  of  this  end?  Review  the  history  of 
our  religion.  See  it,  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  “ beginning 
at  Jerusalem  melting  into  penitence  the  bigoted  and 
cruel  multitude  whose  hands  were  yet  reeking  with  its 
Author’s  blood;  spreading,  in  despite  of  the  power  and 
malice  of  its  enemies,  through  Judea  and  the  surrounding 
provinces  ; gathering  its  trophies  in  the  idolatrous  cities  of 
Asia ; crossing  into  Greece ; confuting  the  philosophy  of 
Athens ; invading  Italy ; entering  the  palaces  of  the 
Caesars ; flying,  with  the  Roman  eagles,  to  the  farthest 
corners  of  the  earth  ; and  reforming  the  habits  and  mould- 
ing the  polity  of  nations  the  most  diverse  in  their  origin, 
circumstances,  and  laws.  See  its  influence  on  the  char- 
acter of  individuals  ; how  it  turns  the  proud,  unsocial  Jew 
into  the  disinterested  lover  of  mankind ; the  persecuting 
Saul  into  the  affectionate  apostle  ; the  heathen  of  Antioch 
into  Christian  confessors ; the  scoffers  of  Athens — the 
Epicureans,  the  Stoics,  and  the  careless  votaries  of  folly 
and  amusement — into  penitent  believers  ; the  voluptuaries 
of  Corinth  into  self-denying  disciples  ; the  idolaters  of 
Galatia,  and  Ephesus,  and  Philippi,  and  Thessalonica,  into 
saints  and  martyrs.  See  it  pouring  into  the  bosom  of  the 
Roman,  the  new  sentiments  of  humility  in  respect  to 
himself,  and  of  brotherhood  towards  others;  suppressing 
the  shows  of  the  gladiator  and  the  crimes  of  poisoning, 
infanticide,  and  self-destruction  ; abolishing  polygamy, 
slavery,  and  the  parental  power  of  life  and  death ; mitiga- 
ting the  penal  law;  confining,  within  just  limits,  that  of 
divorce  ; and  bringing  back  to  connubial  life  the  blessed- 
ness of  Eden,  by  raising  woman  to  the  companionship,  the 
duties,  and  the  confidence  for  which  she  was  designed. 
See  it,  in  after  ages,  humanizing  the  ferocious  Briton  ; 
softening  the  Vandal  ; and  teaching  mercy  to  the  Goth. 
See  it  scattering  throughout  Europe  the  seeds  of  truth, 
and  justice,  and  humanity,  and  social  order,  from  which 
have  sprung  those  various  institutions  which  render  Christ- 


7 


endom  so  superior  in  government,  in  knowledge,  in  the 
arts  and  charities  of  life,  and  in  all  the  elements  of  indi- 
vidual, domestic,  and  national  happiness,  to  the  most 
favored  portions  of  the  Mohammedan  and  Pagan  world. 
See  it,  from  age  to  age,  repeating  its  miracles  of  mercy,  in 
the  transformation  and  improvement  of  human  character ; 
changing  the  vulture  to  a dove,  the  tiger  to  a lamb  ; teach- 
ing the  revengeful  to  forgive,  and  the  miser  to  be  liberal ; 
purifying  the  hearts  of  the  unclean,  the  hands  of  the  fraud- 
ulent, and  the  lips  of  the  profane  ; making  the  proud  man 
humble,  and  chastening  the  desires  of  the  ambitious ; fill- 
ing the  bosoms  of  the  poor,  the  friendless,  and  the  afflicted, 
with  resignation,  cheerfulness,  and  hope  ; and  converting, 
oftentimes,  the  abandoned  drunkard  and  the  profligate 
debauchee — the  very  plague-spots  of  the  earth — into  orna- 
ments of  society  and  benefactors  of  mankind. 

See  it,  in  our  own  times,  as  dispensed  by  the  faithful 
Missionary,  effecting  the  like  results  among  the  heathen 
both  civilized  and  savage  ; and  this,  not  merely  in  respect 
to  isolated  individuals,  but  on  a wide  and  noble  scale.  Look 
at  those  far  off  isles  of  the  Pacific,  long  the  subject  of 
painful  interest  as  the  death  place,  by  cruel  hands,  of  the 
most  distinguished  of  modern  navigators ; but  now  so  dear 
to  the  heart  of  American  philanthrophy ; and  see  what 
wonders  have  there  been  wrought ! It  is  but  twenty-two 
years  since  the  American  Missionaries  commenced  their 
labors  among  the  inhabitants  of  these  islands — then  almost 
as  much  the  children  of  nature,  as  when  first  discovered 
by  Capt.  Cook.  Within  this  short  period,  the  old  idolatry, 
with  all  its  abominations,  has  passed  away  ; the  language 
of  the  nation  has  been  reduced  to  writing ; the  whole 
Bible,  and  several  other  works  of  various  extent,  have  been 
translated  into  the  native  tongue,  printed  on  the  spot,  and 
circulated  among  the  people  ; schools  have  been  establish- 
ed throughout  the  islands ; thousands  of  the  adult  popula- 
tion have  been  taught  to  read  and  write  ; these  invaluable 
attainments  have  been  generally  acquired  by  the  youth  of 


8 


both  sexes ; useful  arts  have  been  introduced ; and  the 
chiefs,  having  learned  from  the  Missionaries,  some  of  the 
leading  principles  of  our  own  legislation  and  jurisprudence, 
have  enacted  laws,  limiting  their  former  arbitrary  power, 
and  protecting  private  rights  through  the  agency  of  courts 
of  justice,  and  of  trial  by  jury.  The  nation  has  greatly 
improved  in  manners,  and  in  morals ; Christian  marriage 
has  come  in  the  place  of  polygamy  and  other  kindred 
abuses  ; the  Sabbath  is  generally  observed  ; and  the  gos- 
pel is  preached,  in  nineteen  different  churches,  to  the  body 
of  the  people,  no  less  than  twenty-one  thousand  of  whom 
have  been  received,  at  different  times,  into  the  communion 
of  the  Christian  Church  ; and  eighteen  thousand  of  whom 
are  now  church  members  in  good  standing.  What  are 
the  physical  improvements  of  the  age,  splendid  as  they 
confessedly  are,  in  comparison  with  this  heavenly  achieve- 
ment ? How,  too,  does  it  cast  into  the  shade,  the  most 
successful  schemes  of  commercial  enterprise — the  most 
brilliant  results  of  military  power  ? It  was  one  of  the 
pointed  sarcasms  of  Swift,  “ that  he  who  could  make  two 
ears  of  corn  or  two  blades  of  grass,  to  grow  where  only 
one  grew  before,  would  deserve  better  of  mankind,  and  do 
more  essential  service  to  his  country,  than  the  whole  race 
of  politicians  put  together.”  If  there  be  some  basis  of 
truth  in  this  remark,  what  measure  of  renown  is  due  to 
those,  who  have  been  the  instruments,  under  Providence, 
of  civilizing  a barbarous  community  ; of  reclaiming  a 
moral  desert ; and  where  before  were  only  known  the 
deadly  productions  of  ignorance  and  sin,  of  causing  the 
arts  of  social  life,  the  knowledge  of  letters,  the  institutions 
of  justice  and  religion,  to  grow  up  and  to  flourish  ? 

Such,  as  shown  by  the  experience  of  eighteen  hundred 
years,  is  the  adaptation  of  Christianity  to  the  necessities  of 
mankind.  In  every  quarter  of  the  globe,  and  under  every 
sun  ; in  every  sphere  of  life,  and  among  all  classes  of  society 
— the  polished  and  the  barbarous — the  high  and  the  low — 
the  rich  and  the  poor — the  old  and  the  young — the  learn- 


ed  and  the  unlearned — this  divine  religion  is  equally 
fitted  to  the  wants  of  the  individual  and  of  society  ; equal- 
ly sure,  where  its  doctrines  are  received,  and  its  precepts 
are  obeyed,  to  bless  the  one,  and  to  elevate  the  other. 

Every  faithful  Missionary  is,  therefore,  a pioneer  of  civ- 
ilization, of  domestic  purity,  of  equal  rights,  of  social  order, 
of  civil  liberty. — lie  carries  with  him  the  Bible — that 
most  wonderful  of  books — soon  to  be  translated  into  the 
mother  tongue  of  the  people  to  whom  he  goes;  the  Print- 
ing Press — that  sure  pledge  that  the  waters  of  barbarism 
shall  never  again  overflow  the  nation  which  receives  it ; 
the  institutions,  the  science,  and  the  literature  of  Christen- 
dom. Richly  laden,  above  others,  with  such  treasures, 
are  the  English  and  American  Missionaries,  (and  it  is  to 
them  that  Protestant  Missions  are  chiefly  intrusted,)  for 
they  carry  with  them  our  noble  language,  so  rich  in  works 
of  a religious  and  moral  kind,  from  whose  perennial  springs 
many  channels  may  be  opened,  for  “ streams  in  the  desert 
and  waters  in  the  wilderness.” 

Well,  then,  may  every  friend  to  the  progress  and  well- 
being of  his  race — every  right  minded  and  reflecting  man 
— take  a profound  interest  in  the  Missionary  Enterprise  ; 
for,  at  the  very  lowest  view  which  can  be  taken  of  it,  it 
must  be  ranked  among  the  noblest  efforts  of  genuine  phi- 
lanthropy. Especially  may  this  interest  be  felt  by  the 
Young  Men  of  Boston.  Descended  from  a pious  ancestry; 
born  in  a land  of  Bibles ; reared  under  Christian  institu- 
tions ; and  enjoying,  in  largest  measure,  the  freedom, 
knowledge,  and  refinement,  the  consolations,  and  the 
hopes,  of  which  Christianity  is  the  source ; how  can  they 
acquit  themselves  to  the  Author  of  these  benefits,  if  they 
fail  to  sympathize  with  the  millions  of  His  children — 
“bone  of  their  bone,  and  flesh  of  their  flesh” — from 
whom,  in  His  inscrutable  wisdom,  He  has  seen  fit  to 
withhold  these  inestimable  blessings  ? 

And  is  it  not  a strong  proof,  that  man,  in  his  present 
2 


10 


condition,  is  not  only  far  gone  from  holiness,  but  from 
reason,  when  we  see  so  many  intelligent  and  benevolent 
men ; so  many  brilliant  geniuses ; so  many  accomplished 
statesmen ; so  many,  in  every  department  of  life,  whose 
talents  we  admire  and  whose  virtues  we  venerate — utterly 
indifferent  to  the  propagation  of  Christianity  among  the 
unevangelized  portions  of  the  earth? — Many  of  this  class 
are  not  insensible  of  the  moral  degradation,  the  social 
misery,  or  the  political  evils  of  Mohammedan  and  Pagan 
nations ; they  would  doubtless  rejoice  at  the  diffusion  of 
knowledge,  virtue  and  liberty  among  them ; and  yet,  in 
the  pride  and  perverseness  of  the  human  understanding, 
they  reject,  with  contempt,  the  only  means  by  which  this 
end  can  be  secured ; or,  amid  the  duties  and  schemes  and 
rivalries  of  active  life,  the  pursuits  of  literature  and  science, 
and  the  enjoyments  of  society,  they  perceive  not  the  claims 
of  this  enterprise  upon  their  sympathy — they  feel  no  dis- 
position to  help  it  forward  by  their  patronage,  their  coun- 
sels, or  their  prayers ! 

So  thought  not  the  sublimest  of  England’s  Bards,  when, 
in  one  of  his  polemical  essays,  rising  “ on  seraph  wings  of 
exstacy,”  far  above  the  petty  interests  of  sects  and  parties, 
and  apostrophizing  the  Prince  of  Light,  he  cries,  “ Seeing 
the  power  of  thy  grace  is  not  passed  away  with  the  primi- 
tive times,  as  fond  and  faithless  men  imagine,  but  thy 
kingdom  is  now  at  hand,  and  thou  standing  at  the  door, 
come  forth  out  of  thy  royal  chambers,  O Prince  of  all  the 
Kings  of  the  Earth ! Put  on  the  visible  robes  of  thy  im- 
perial majesty ; take  up  that  unlimited  sceptre  which  thy 
Almighty  Father  hath  bequeathed  thee  ; for  now  the  voice 
of  thy  bride  calls  thee,  and  all  things  sigh  to  be  renewed !” 
So  thought  not  her  greater  master  of  harmonious  verse, 
when  he  condensed  the  glowing  prophecies  of  Isaiah,  into 
that  most  beautiful  of  sacred  idyls,  which  celebrates  the 
advent  and  the  triumphs  of  Messiah.  So  thought  not  the 
immortal  Sir  Isaac  Newton,  who  gave  his  old  age  to  the 
study  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures,  “ inquiring  and  searching 


11 


diligently,”  like  the  seers  of  old,  “ what,  or  what  manner 
of  time,  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  which  was  in  them,  did  signi- 
fy, when  it  testified  beforehand,  the  glory  that  should  fol- 
low ” his  incarnation.  So  thought  not  his  great  contempo- 
rary, the  virtuous  Boyle,  who,  at  his  own  expense  caused 
the  Gospels  and  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  to  be  translated  in- 
to Malayan,  and  furnished  five  hundred  copies  to  the  East 
India  Company,  to  be  circulated  by  them  ; and  who  was 
also  one  of  the  founders,  and  the  first  Governor,  of  the 
Society  for  Propagating  the  Gospel  among  the  natives  of 
New  England.  So  thought  not,  in  later  times,  the  gifted 
Cowper  when  he  sang  of 

“ scenes  surpassing  fable,  and  yet  true, 

Scenes  of  accomplished  bliss 

nor  the  eminent  Sir  William  Jones,  nor  the  enlightened 
Wilberforce.  And  so  thinks  not  now,  the  oldest,  perhaps 
I might  say,  the  greatest,  of  living  poets,  who  uses  the 
English  tongue,  the  at  last  appreciated  Wordsworth ; nor, 
in  a neighboring  land,  his  venerable  compeer,  the  imagina- 
tive Chateaubriand,  the  brilliant  De  La  Martine,  or  the  dis- 
tinguished Guizot.  So  reasons  not  the  last  great  work  of 
Schlegel  of  Vienna,  (an  English  translation  of  which  has 
lately  issued  from  the  American  press,)  in  which  the  idea 
of  an  universal  history — with  Christianity  as  the  grand 
central  point,  to  which  all  things,  prior  to  its  introduction, 
tended,  and  from  which,  since  that  epoch,  all  things  have 
gone,  and  yet  go,  forth,  preparatory  to  its  final  triumph — 
first  deduced  from  the  Sacred  Scriptures,  by  your  own 
Edwards,  in  his  History  of  Redemption,  is  developed  with 
signal  power  and  beauty.  In  dwelling  on  its  pages,  we 
can  scarcely  regret,  Protestants  though  we  are,  that  its 
author  went  from  the  dead  Rationalism  which  has  sup- 
planted the  living  Faith  of  the  Reformers,  to  a more  spirit- 
ual though  yet  erroneous  creed  ; and  we  cannot  but  honor 
his  active  labors  for  its  propagation,  as  a fit  proof  of  the 
depth  and  sincerity  of  his  religious  feeling. 


12 


Would  to  Heaven,  that  more  of  the  great  popular  writ- 
ers of  our  day  and  especially  of  our  own  language — more 
of  our  scientific,  and  professional,  and  public  men, — could 
claim  communion  with  this  temper,  and  could  see  in  Chris- 
tianity, what  Milton,  and  Boyle,  and  Cowper'saw;  and 
could  feel  as  they  felt,  in  prospect  of  its  ultimate  diffusion 
throughout  the  earth.  Byron  has  described,  with  terrible 
sublimity,  the  sad  procession  of  prodigies,  sufferings  and 
horrors  which  would  follow  the  extinction  of  natural  light, 
until  at  length  Darkness,  sole  survivor  of  the  train,  should 
be,  herself,  the  Universe.  Oh  why  did  he  not  remember, 
that  compared  to  the  loss  of  Christianity,  and  its  attendant 
luminaries,  the  blotting  out  of  the  stars  and  even  of  the 
sun  itself,  were  but  a slight  calamity  ; and  that  were  the 
former  to  be  extinguished,  Sin  and  Misery  asking  “ no 
aid”  from  Hell,  would  indeed  “write  Fiend”  on  every 
brow,  and  the  moral  universe  be  given  up  to  Darkness, 
Desolation  and  Despair. 

Would  to  Heaven,  too,  that  the  statesmen,  the  reform- 
ers, the  philanthropists,  of  our  age,  on  both  sides  of  the 
Atlantic,  more  generally  understood,  that  neither  just  sys- 
tems of  government,  nor  extended  means  of  education, 
nor  great  improvements  in  science,  nor  high  perfection  in 
the  arts,  nor  all  combined — important  as  they  are,  and 
much  as  they  deserve  the  thoughts,  and  demand  the  care 
and  reward  the  labors  of  men, — are  not  sufficient,  in  them- 
selves, to  secure  national  prosperity  ! That  to  render  these 
advantages  effectual,  and  to  prevent  the  decay  of  patriot- 
ism, the  decline  of  virtue,  and  the  loss  of  freedom,  there 
is  needed,  in  addition  to  every  other  instrumentality,  the 
enlightening,  the  restraining,  the  elevating  influence  of 
the  Christian  faith : That  to  establish,  on  a solid  founda- 

tion, the  doctrine  of  the  equality  of  human  rights,  and 
the  other  principles  of  civil  liberty  which  rest  on  this  doc- 
trine as  their  corner  stone,  that  foundation  must  be  laid  in 
the  existence  of  one  God — the  common  Parent  of  all  the 
nations  of  the  earth — the  benevolent  Father  of  even  the 


13 


humblest  of  the  sons  of  Adam:  That  neither  Atheism, 
which  deprives  man  of  this  glorious  parentage  ; nor  Poly- 
theism, which  assigns  to  each  nation,  or  to  each  fragment 
of  every  nation,  its  peculiar  divinity;  nor  Pantheism, 
which  reduces  the  Deity  to  a mere  abstraction,  and  de- 
stroys the  activity  of  the  individual  man;  can  find,  by  any 
process  of  sound  reasoning,  a basis  for  this  doctrine: 
That  hence  it  was,  that  in  all  the  republics  of  pagan  an- 
tiquity, the  right  of  free  citizenship  was  confined  to  so 
small  a portion  of  the  people  ; that  the  masses  were  held  in 
such  degrading  servitude ; and  that  the  principle  of  rep- 
resentation was  so  utterly  unknown  : That  hence  also 
it  was,  that  the  congregation  of  the  Mayflower,  giving 
themselves  up  to  the  full  influence  of  the  sentiment,  that 
they  were  all,  and  each,  and  equally,  the  children  of  the 
Universal  Father,  discovered  those  sublime  truths  in  po- 
litical science,  so  long  hidden  from  the  sages  of  the  old 
world : That  hence  also  it  was,  that  after  the  French 
people  had  cast  off  the  belief  of  a Supreme  Being,  it  be- 
came, in  the  nature  of  things,  impossible,  that  their  scheme 
of  democratic  liberty  should  succeed : That  the  casting 
off  of  this  belief,  was,  in  their  case,  not  merely  the  dis- 
ruption of  all  those  bands  of  truth  and  justice  and  duty 
which  hold  Society  together ; but  the  overthrow,  the  en- 
gul phing  of  the  only  foundation  on  which  the  doctrine  of 
equality  and  of  brotherhood  can  possibly  be  rested:  And 

that  there  is  no  ground  to  hope  for  the  emancipation  of 
the  millions  of  Africa  and  Asia,  from  the  thraldom  of  des- 
potic power,  until  the  pure  doctrines  of  the  Christian  faith, 
and  its  beneficent  morality,  shall  have  taken  the  place  of 
those  systems  of  religious  error  from  which  that  despotic 
power  claims  to  be  derived,  and  by  which  it  is  nourished 
and  upheld ! 

Thus  far,  I have  considered  the  Missionary  Enterprise 
in  reference,  chiefly,  to  its  general  bearings  on  the  secular 
interests  of  mankind.  But  there  is  another  and  to  the 
spiritually  minded  Christian,  a much  more  important  and 


14 


impressive  consideration.  The  nations  of  the  unevangel- 
ized are  made  up  of  individuals , each  of  them  an  immor- 
tal, an  accountable  being,  subject.,  like  ourselves,  to  God’s 
righteous  law.  Not,  indeed,  to  the  precepts  written  on 
the  tables  of  stone  given  to  Moses  in  the  mount,  and  ex- 
pounded in  the  Scriptures  ; but  to  that  original  and  univer- 
sal law  of  which  the  decalogue  is  but  a republication ; — 
that  law  which  is  described  by  the  greatest  of  Roman 
orators  and  by  the  apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  in  terms  sub- 
stantially identical, — as  the  law,  written  by  the  finger  of 
God  on  the  hearts  of  men ; proclaimed  by  the  works  of 
His  hand  ; attested  to  by  His  vicegerent,  Conscience  ; and 
confirmed  by  His  providence  in  the  government  of  the 
world.  Every  being  who  wears  our  form  in  Mohammedan 
and  Pagan  countries,  is  guilty  like  ourselves  (though  un- 
der circumstances  less  aggravated)  of  breaking  this  law  ; 
and  in  like  manner  with  ourselves,  needs  the  forgiveness 
of  his  sins,  the  renovation  of  his  imperfect  and  polluted 
nature,  and  the  salvation  of  his  soul.  The  gospel  of 
Christ  is  the  appointed  means  of  effecting  this  end  ; of  de- 
livering men  from  the  “ corruption  that  is  in  the  world 
through  lust ; ” of  making  them  “ partakers  of  the  divine 
nature  of  fitting  them  for  the  society  of  Heaven;  and 
of  bringing  them,  as  the  end  of  their  faith,  and  hope,  and 
virtue,  into  that  inheritance  of  purity  and  bliss,  that 
“shall  never  fade  away.”  And  because  it  is  so,  its  divine 
author  taught  his  disciples  daily  to  pray  for  the  coming 
of  his  kingdom,  and  thus,  by  the  most  obvious  implication 
daily  to  labor  for  its  coming ; and  when  he  ascended  from 
the  hill  of  Olivet,  he  enjoined  it  on  them,  as  his  last  com- 
mand, that  they  should  “go  into  all  the  world,  and  preach 
the  gospel  to  every  creature,  and  make  disciples  of  all  the 
nations  of  the  earth.” 

Those  who  concur  in  the  foregoing  views  of  the  ten- 
dencies of  Christianity,  and  especially  if  they  regard  it  as 
the  only  means  by  which  the  victims  of  false  religions 
can  be  delivered  from  their  sins,  and  be  trained  up  for 


J. 

15 

heaven ; — who  feel  that  the  commission  of  the  first  disci- 
ples has  descended  to  these  times  ; and  that  it  is  equally 
incumbent  on  us,  as  it  was  on  them,  either  in  person,  or 
by  the  agency  of  others,  to  fulfil  it  to  the  uttermost ; — all 
such  will  readily  comprehend  why  it  is,  that  the  Young 
Men  of  Boston  connected  with  this  Society,  have  felt  it 
to  be  their  privilege,  not  less  than  their  duty,  to  take  mea- 
sures for  acquiring  for  themselves,  and  for  diffusing  among 
others,  a familiar  acquaintance  with  the  history,  condition, 
and  prospects  of  a work  so  beneficent  and  godlike. — They 
have  reason  to  rejoice,  that  while  to  the  “ sightless  eye- 
balls ” of  many  of  the  wise  and  great,  the  learned  and 
the  noble,  the  Missionary  Enterprise  presents  nothing  to 
attract  even  a casual  glance  ; to  them  it  is  given,  “in  the 
dew  of  their  youth,” — ere  their  hearts  have  been  seared 
by  contact  with  the  world,  or  their  hands  have  lost  their 
aptness  for  works  of  love — to  see  it  to  be  worthy  of  their 
most  deliberate  regards. 

In  employing  the  popular  lecture  for  the  diffusion  of 
missionary  knowledge,  the  founders  of  this  Society  have 
erected  another  beacon  to  adorn  our  intellectual  horizon  ; 
one  whose  beams,  I would  fain  hope,  may  reach  from 
“New  England’s  rock-bound  coast”  to  the  remotest  prairies 
of  the  West,  and  by  whose  blaze  other  lights  may  be  en- 
kindled. It  was  fitting  that  a scheme  of  instruction  so 
benevolent,  should  be  originated  in  this  ancient  metropolis; 
from  which  have  already  gone  forth  so  many  streams  of 
illumination  and  of  mercy.  Young  Men  of  Boston!  By 
combining  with  the  harmless  excitement  and  healthful 
recreation  of  the  well-conducted  lecture  room  the  sacred 
lessons  of  the  Missionary  Enterprise,  you  have  opened,  in 
this  place,  a new  and  ample  field  of  research  and  reflec- 
tion ; one  in  which  the  Muses  of  History  and  of  Eloquence 
may  delight  to  range ; in  which  Fancy  may  cull  many  a 
blooming  floweret,  and  Imagination,  snatching  from  the 


16 


tree  of  life  the  harp  of  Prophecy,  bring  from  it, 

“ strains  that  might  create  a soul, 

Under  the  ribs  of  death.” 

Here  you  may  study  the  obligations  of  the  world  to 
Christianity;  its  adaptation  to  the  condition  and  necessities 
of  mankind ; the  duties  of  Christians  to  disseminate  it  to 
the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth ; the  means  by  which  the 
work  is  to  be  accomplished  ; the  difficulties  to  be  encoun- 
tered, and  the  manner  in  which  they  are  to  be  overcome. 
Here  you  may  expatiate  on  the  life  and  teachings  of  our 
Redeemer  ; the  introduction  of  his  kingdom  ; its  advance- 
ment in  the  world ; the  certainty  of  its  ultimate  triumph  ; 
and  the  light,  and  happiness,  and  glory,  which  shall  then 
fill  the  habitable  earth.  Here,  you  may  dwell  on  the  story 
of  the  first  missionaries  and  martyrs ; trace  out  the  jour- 
neyings,  and  recount  the  labors,  perils,  sufferings  and 
achievements,  of  Peter  and  Paul,  and  their  associates ; 
pursue  the  blood-stained  track  of  their  successors,  through 
the  ten  imperial  persecutions  ; explore  the  immense  field 
of  missionary  labor,  traversed  by  the  Nestorians,  from  the 
gulf  of  Persia  to  the  Caspian  sea,  and  eastward  through 
India,  to  the  coasts  of  Malabar,  and  the  vast  regions  of 
China ; follow  the  steps  of  those  who  planted  the  Gospel 
in  Egypt,  Nubia,  and  Abyssinia ; study  the  history  of  its 
propagation  in  Gaul,  Britain,  and  northern  Europe  ; gaze 
on  the  strange  but  brilliant  drama  of  the  Crusades,  and 
investigate  the  consequences,  for  good  and  for  evil,  which 
resulted  from  them ; mark,  in  the  gloom  of  the  middle 
ages,  the  apostolic  labors  of  Waldo  and  Wickliffe  ; review 
the  history  of  the  Dominicans,  devoted,  from  their  origin, 
to  the  double  task  of  preaching  the  faith,  and  extermin- 
ating the  enemies,  of  Rome ; refer  to  a holier  zeal,  blend- 
ed, in  the  bosom  of  Columbus,  with  the  love  of  adventure 
and  the  hope  of  fame,  and  swaying,  as  a master  passion, 
the  soul  of  Isabella,  the  discovery  of  the  new  world ; re- 
hearse the  great  deeds  of  the  reformers  and  their  immediate 


17 


successors ; contemplate  the  rise,  progress,  fall,  and  recent 
revival,  of  the  Society  of  Jesus — that  remarkable  frater- 
nity, in  which  Missionary  zeal  and  political  ambition,  love 
of  learning  and  love  of  intrigue,  open-handed  charity  and 
iron-hearted  intolerance,  insolence  and  servility,  candor  and 
falsehood,  have  received  so  many  and  such  varied  illustra- 
tions ; commemorate  the  celestial  piety  and  active  be- 
nevolence of  Eliot  and  the  Mayhews,  of  Brainard  and 
Schwartz,  and  Martyn ; render  to  the  Danish  and  Mora- 
vian missions,  the  homage  of  grateful  reverence  ; hail  the 
dawn  of  a new  spirit  in  the  Wesleyan  Methodists  and 
Baptists  of  Britain  ; see  it  spreading  among  the  Dissenters 
and  Churchmen  of  that  country,  and  creating  the  London 
and  other  Missionary  Societies,  and  at  length,  leading  to 
the  formation  of  those  mighty  auxiliaries,  the  British  Bible 
and  Tract  Societies ; and  returning  to  our  own  country, 
find  in  the  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign 
Missions,  and  its  great  kindred  associations,  new  and  most 
successful  laborers  in  the  work  of  evangelizing  the  world. 

From  these  various  departments  of  Missionary  effort,  em- 
bracing a period  of  eighteen  hundred  years,  and  spreading 
over  the  remotest  portions  of  the  earth,  those  who  are  to 
speak  to  you,  may  bring  forth  treasures  new  and  old  ; nar- 
ratives of  journeyings  and  perils  and  adventures,  to  win 
and  to  repay  attention  ; accounts  of  the  geography,  natural 
history,  arts  and  sciences,  institutions,  superstitions,  rites, 
ceremonies,  and  habits,  of  many  and  widely  different  na- 
tions ; tales  of  romantic  heroism  and  of  patient  endurance  ; 
examples  of  genius  as  well  as  of  faith  ; comprehensive 
plans  of  statesmanship,  along  with  the  humblest  efforts  of 
piety  ; memorials  of  commanding  talent  and  proofs  of  dis- 
interested love  ; fitted  to  instruct,  to  entertain,  and  to 
delight  the  most  intelligent  assembly.  This,  the  historian 
of  the  Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire  has  shown 
by  many  instances ; though  it  is  deeply  to  be  lamented, 
that  with  the  vivid  coloring  and  elaborate  finish  of  his 
3 


18 


pictures,  the  infidelity  of  the  artist  should  be  so  constantly 
intermingled.  It  is  shown  too,  by  other  writers  of  this 
class,  in  their  notices  of  kindred  topics,  and  especially  by 
your  gifted  townsman,  the  author  of  the  History  of  the 
United  States,  in  the  pages  devoted  to  Eliot  and  the  May- 
hews,  (one  of  the  gems  of  his  beautiful  work,)  and  more 
largely  in  his  extended  account  of  the  Jesuit  Missions  in 
Canada  and  the  West. 

The  able  men,  whose  names  grace  your  catalogue,  will 
find,  in  the  manifold  and  diversified  subjects  which  belong 
to  this  department  of  knowledge,  abundant  materials  for 
their  purpose ; and  as  the  Missionary  efforts  of  each  suc- 
ceeding year  shall  add  to  our  existent  stores,  I see  not  why 
annual  courses  of  such  lectures  may  not  easily  be  kept  up, 
provided  care  be  taken  to  avoid  sameness  in  the  choice  of 
subjects,  and  to  present  the  matter  of  each  lecture  in  an 
attractive  dress. 

The  benefits  which  may  be  expected  from  such  a course 
of  public  instruction,  are  obvious  and  manifold. 

The  acquisition  of  knowledge,  on  any  subject  which 
has  engaged  any  considerable  share  of  human  action,  and 
more  particularly  if  it  continue  to  employ  a large  number 
of  our  contemporaries,  is  not  'only  a rational,  but,  to  a 
greater  or  less  extent,  a necessary  pursuit. 

The  past  history  of  Christian  Missions  embraces,  as  we 
have  seen,  a Avide  range  of  interesting  research  ; in  our 
own  day,  the  Missionary  Enterprise  has  taken  a most  im- 
portant place  among  the  great  movements  of  the  age ; and 
it  is  therefore,  to  all  men,  a fit  subject  of  inquiry  and 
reflection. 

KnoAvledge,  of  any  useful  kind,  repays,  at  once,  the 
labor  spent  in  acquiring  it,  by  the  pleasure  its  acquisition 
imparts.  But,  it  is  not  for  this  gratification  alone,  which 
is,  in  some  respects,  a selfish  one,  that  knowledge  should 
be  chiefly  sought. 


19 


“ Not  enjoyment  ami  not  sorrow 
Is  our  being's  end  and  way  ; 

Cut  to  act  that  each  to-morrow 
Find  us  farther  than  to-day 

The  knowledge  which  may  be  acquired  here,  will  afford 
much  both  of  enjoyment  and  of  sorrow  ; enjoyment  in 
the  contemplation  of  the  good  accomplished,  sorrow  in 
reflecting  on  the  wretchedness  and  ruin  which  remain  to 
be  relieved : but  if  it  be  pursued  and  received  in  a proper 
spirit,  it  will  be  eminently  useful. 

The  subjects  which  will  be  here  presented,  will  with- 
draw the  mind  from  the  grovelling  pursuits  of  every-day 
life,  and  thus  give  it  a more  elevated  tone;  they  will  teach 
you  to  feel  for  the  miseries  and  care  for  the  happiness  of 
others,  and  thus  promote  a generous  and  healthful  sensi- 
bility ; they  will  rouse  you  to  activity  and  self-denial,  and 
thus  prepare  you  to  become  efficient  benefactors  of  man- 
kind. 

This  Association,  if  its  plan  of  instruction  be  success- 
fully carried  out,  may  become  an  efficient  auxiliary  in  pro- 
moting the  Enterprise  concerning  which  it  proposes  to  dif- 
fuse information  ; it  may  give  to  that  enterprise  a new 
and  deeper  hold  on  the  affections  of  its  friends ; it  may 
commend  it  to  the  favor  of  many,  who  have  hitherto  re- 
garded it  with  indifference ; it  may  ally  it  to  its  true  as- 
sociates, the  cause  of  Liberty,  and  the  cause  of  Letters ; it 
may  awake  the  slumbering  spirit  of  some  Swartz  or 
Brainard,  or  Martyn,  or  Mills,  and  send  him  forth  to  teach 
the  nations  of  the  unevangelized  ; it  may,  in  these  and  a 
thousand  other  ways,  pour  out  a rich  stream  of  blessing 
on  the  world,  and  aid  in  promoting  the  glory  of  the 
Highest. 

I would  urge  its  members  not  to  faint  in  their  way  ; 
not  to  relax  in  the  good  work  upon  which  they  have  en- 
tered. You  will  sometimes  be  discouraged,  when  you  re- 
flect on  the  obstacles  which  oppose  the  propagation  of  the 
gospel  in  heathen  and  Mohammedan  countries ; but  yield 


20 


not  to  despondency,  still  less,  to  despair.  Remember  that 
He,  who  has  promised  to  “fill  the  earth”  with  his  glory, 
has  promised,  also,  the  aid  of  his  spirit  for  the  accomplish- 
ment of  the  work.  Remember  that  “ the  silver  and  the 
gold  are  his.”  His,  “the  cattle  on  a thousand  hills;” 
His  the  ministry  of  nature ; and  His  the  government  of 
the  nations  of  the  earth : that  in  His  hands  are  the  hearts 
of  men,  the  councils  of  Princes  and  the  course  of  empire; 
that  He  makes  even  “ the  wrath  of  man  to  praise  Him  ; ” 
and  that  when  He  pleases,  He  will  employ  them  all  in  the 
accomplishment  of  his  merciful  designs.  Not  that  He  has 
need  of  their  assistance,  but  because  He  works  by  appro- 
priate means,  and  because  to  His  intelligent  creatures  this 
employment  is  a necessary  means  of  discipline  and  of 
good,  of  beneficence  or  of  judgment.  Have  faith  in  God: 
faith  in  his  purposes  of  love  to  his  creatures — faith  in  his 
fidelity  to  his  promises.  Have  faith  also  in  man : faith  in  his 
vocation  to  the  best  and  most  glorious  of  destinies,  that  of 
becoming  a feliow-worker  with  the  Almighty,  in  the  sal- 
vation of  his  species.  Cultivate  this  sacred  source  of  holy 
motive,  of  active  effort,  of  living  hope.  When  your  faith 
flags,  recur  to  the  lyre  of  David  and  the  harp  of  Isaiah  ; 
listen  to  their  songs  of  triumph,  and  the  unbelieving  spirit 
shall  be  charmed  into  silence.'  Connect  with  the  predic- 
tions and  promises  of  Scripture,  their  actual  fulfilment,  to 
so  large  an  extent,  which  has  already  taken  place.  If  you 
are  sometimes  told  by  sneering  Infidelity,  that  the  hun- 
dreds of  millions  of  China  and  Hindostan,  and  other  pagan 
countries,  who  bow  to-day  to  their  idols  “of  wood,  and 
of  stone,  and  of  silver  and  of  gold,”  and  “ to  birds,  and  to 
four-footed  beasts,  and  to  creeping  things,”  and  to  the 
images  of  such  things,  have  done  so  from  their  infancy ; 
and  that  they  and  their  posterity  will  do  so  forever ; re- 
member who  it  is  that  hath  said — in  reference  to  the  ad- 
vent of  his  Son — “ the  idols  He  shall  utterly  abolish  ; and 
they  shall  go  into  the  holes  of  the  rocks,  and  into  the 
caves  of  the  earth,  for  fear  of  the  Lord  and  for  the  glory  of 


21 


His  majesty,  when  he  ariscth  to  shake  terribly  the  earth.” 
Read  in  the  events  of  the  first  three  centuries  of  the  Chris- 
tian era,  the  incomplete  but  glorious  accomplishment  of 
this  promise.  Remember  that  the  habitable  earth,  save 
one  small  and  isolated  part,  was  then  wholly  given  up  to 
Idolatry ; and  that  the  gods  of  Western  Asia,  of  Greece,  and 
of  Rome,  the  seats  of  learning  and  refinement,  had  then, 
in  their  poetical  mythology,  and  in  the  charms  with  which 
imagination  and  fancy  had  arrayed  it,  a hold  on  the  culti- 
vated mind,  stronger  than  any  of  which  existing  systems 
can  boast ; and  that  equally  with  them  those  exploded 
superstitions  enjoyed  the  patronage  and  support  of  the 
rulers,  and  the  blind  confidence  of  the  people.  And  yet 
how  swiftly  were  they  swept  away ; how  soon  were  they 
“ cast  to  the  moles  and  to  the  bats ! ” Before  even  the 
Angels’  song,  announcing  the  Redeemer’s  birth,  had  died 
away  upon  the  plains  of  Bethlehem,  (such  is  the  glorious 
vision  of  Milton’s  muse)  the  work  is  done — the  victory 
accomplished. 


“ The  oracles  are  dumb, 

No  voice  or  hideous  hum 

Runs  through  the  arched  roof  in  words  deceiving. 
Apollo  from  his  shrine 
Can  no  more  divine, 

With  hollow  shriek  the  steep  of  Delphos  leaving. 

No  nightly  trance,  or  breathed  spell 

Inspires  the  pale-eyed  priest  from  the  prophetic  cell. 


In  consecrated  earth, 

And  on  the  holy  hearth, 

The  Lars  and  Lemures  moan  with  midnight  plaint ; 

In  urns,  and  altars  round, 

A drear  and  dying  sound 
Affrights  the  Flamens  at  their  service  quaint ; 

And  the  chill  marble  seems  to  sweat, 

While  each  peculiar  Power  foregoes  his  wonted  seat. 


Peor  and  Baalim 
Forsake  their  temples  dim, 

With  that  twice-battered  God  of  Palestine; 
And  mooned  Ashtaroth, 

Heaven’s  Queen  and  Mother  both, 


22 


Now  sits  not  girt  with  tapers’  holy  shine ; 

The  Libyc  Hammon  shrinks  his  horn, 

In  vain  the  Tyrian  maids  their  wounded  Thannnuz  mourn. 

And  sullen  Moloch  fled, 

Hath  left  in  shadows  dread 
His  burning  idol  all  of  blackest  hue  ; 

In  vain  with  cymbals’  ring 
They  call  the  grisly  king, 

In  dismal  dance  about  the  furnace  blue  : 

The  brutish  gods  of  Nile  as  fast, 

Isis,  and  Orus,  and  the  dog  Anubis  haste. 

Nor  is  Osiris  seen 
In  Memphian  grove  or  green, 

Trampling  the  unshower’d  grass  with  lowings  loud  : 

Nor  can  he  be  at  rest 
Within  his  sacred  chest; 

Nought  but  profoundest  hell  can  be  his  shroud ; 

In  vain  with  timbrell’d  anthems  dark 

The  sable-stoled  sorcerers  bear  his  worshipp'd  ark. 

He  feels  from  Judah’s  land 
The  dreaded  Infant’s  hand, 

The  rays  of  Bethlehem  blind  his  dusky  eyn : 

Nor  all  the  gods  beside, 

Longer  dare  abide, 

Nor  Typhon  huge  ending  in  snaky  twine  : 

Our  Babe,  to  show  his  Godhead  true, 

Can  in  his  swaddling  bands  control  the  damned  crew.” 

So  too,  but  with  greater  majesty  and  power,  when  He 
comes  to  take  to  himself  his  “ everlasting  dominion,”  shall 
it  be  again.  Then  shall  the  gods  of  modern  heathenism 
be  driven  from  their  temples,  like  “ the  chaff  of  the  sum- 
mer threshing  floor”  or  “the  dust  before  the  whirlwind,” 
and  “the  Lord  alone  be  exalted  in  that  day.” 

Before  the  coming  of  our  Saviour,  there  was  an  evident 
preparation  for  that  event,  in  the  general  peace  which 
shortly  preceded  it ; in  new  facilities  for  intercommunica- 
tion between  different  parts  of  the  known  world ; and  in 
other  circumstances  Avhich  marked  the  signs  of  that  aus- 
picious era,  and  promoted  the  rapid  propagation  of  Chris- 
tianity. 


The  predictions  of  holy  writ,  analogy,  and  other  con- 
siderations justify  the  belief,  that  the  like  arrangements 
may  be  employed,  to  facilitate  its  general  diffusion  and  its 
final  triumph. 

As  “ the  time  of  the  end  ” draws  nigh — such  is  the 
assurance  of  the  prophet  Daniel — “men  shall  run  to  and 
fro,  and  knowledge  be  increased.”  The  Protestant  Re- 
formation and  the  new  march  of  mankind  in  science,  in 
politics,  and  in  religion,  which  began  about  the  same 
period,  and  has  ever  since  continued,  was  preceded  and 
has  been  followed,  by  great  discoveries,  and  by  many  other 
events,  which  may  justly  be  regarded  as  the  partial  fulfil- 
ment of  this  prophecy.  On  the  certainty  of  its  complete 
accomplishment,  the  illustrious  founder  of  the  inductive 
philosophy  grounded  the  cheering  hope,  often  expressed  in 
his  writings,  “that  proficience  in  navigation  and  discove- 
ries may  plant,  also,  an  expectation  of  the  further  profi- 
cience and  augmentation  of  all  science.”  In  the  advances 
since  made,  especially  in  the  increased  and  constantly 
increasing  means  of  intercommunication  between  the 
various  parts  of  each  civilized  country,  and  between  dif- 
ferent states  and  continents ; and  in  the  influence  thus 
exerted  on  the  social  feeling  of  mankind,  and  on  the  diffu- 
sion of  knowledge  throughout  the  earth  ; we  may  see,  that 
already  the  prediction  of  the  Jewish  exile  has  become  his- 
tory, and  the  hope  of  the  English  philosopher  been  real- 
ized. 

In  the  great  national  revolutions  which  have  signalized 
the  last  fifty  years ; the  movements  which  are  still  going 
on  in  many  parts  of  the  world ; the  social  changes  in 
Mohammedan  Europe  ; the  extension  of  European  power 
(not  always  it  must  be  confessed,  in  a justifiable  way, 
though  usually  with  beneficial  results)  over  many  parts 
of  Asia  and  Africa,  and  to  the  great  islands  of  the  Indian 
and  Southern  Oceans  ; the  progress  made  in  North  and 
South  America,  and  above  all  by  our  own  country  during 
the  same  period ; and  the  swift  march  of  civilization 


24 


wherever  it  obtains  a foothold  ; he  who  studies  the  history 
of  his  race  in  the  light  of  the  Bible,  cannot  but  see  plain 
indications,  that  the  authority,  institutions  and  influence 
of  Christendom  are  soon  to  overspread  the  globe,  as  a ne- 
cessary preparation  for  the  universal  triumph  of  Christiani- 
ty itself. 

It  is  delightful  to  reflect,  that  all  the  great  social  and 
political  changes  which  are  going  on  in  the  world,  and 
all  the  agencies  employed  by  men  for  the  acquisition  of 
Power,  the  benefit  of  Commerce,  the  diffusion  of  Knowl- 
edge, or  the  advancement  of  Science,  are,  in  the  Provi- 
dence of  God,  subservient  and  tributary  to  this  great  end. 
While  ambitious  leaders  are  striving  for  pre-eminence, 
and  haughty  governments  waging  wars  of  aggression  ; 
while  masses  of  men  are  agitated  by  new  ideas,  and  mov- 
ing forward  in  the  march  of  freedom  ; while  commercial 
enterprise  is  compassing  sea  and  land,  and  bringing  to  re- 
gions unknown  to  ancient  song,  “the  wealth  of  Ormus 
and  of  Ind while  scientific  inquirers  are  pushing  their 
researches  into  the  deepest  recesses  of  matter  and  of  mind, 
and  men  of  practical  skill  tasking  to  the  utmost  their  in- 
ventive faculties ; while  many  of  the  busy  millions  who 
are  thus  playing  their  respective  parts  in  these  various 
spheres,  think  little  of  any  interest  but  their  own,  and  least 
of  all  of  the  interests  of  God’s  kingdom  ; “ He  who  sitteth 
in  the  heavens  ” is  using  them  all,  as  instruments  for  the 
completion  of  his  own  grand  and  beneficent  designs.  Let 
it  be  our  highest  wish,  our  most  earnest  prayer,  that  He 
may  grant  to  each  of  us,  the  disposition  to  be  willing  co- 
operators,  and  the  ability  to  render  some  useful  service,  in 
this  work  of  heavenly  love  ! 


